Sherwen, one of the most well-known voices in the sport, was involved in 40 Tours de France, including 33 as a commentator and seven as a competitor. He also covered cycling at five Olympics for NBC in 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.

As a pro cyclist, Sherwen won British national titles in 1986 and 1987 and raced in prestigious one-day classics Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo.

Sherwen lived in Uganda since age 7 and was a citizen of the East African nation. He helped create Paul’s Peloton, which brought bicycles to Africa, and advocated for African wildlife as a chairman of the Ugandan Conservation Foundation and supporter of the Helping Rhinos initiative.

“We are saddened to offer our condolences to the friends and family of Paul Sherwen, who passed away this morning at his home in Uganda,” NBC Sports said in a statement. “Paul was synonymous with the Tour de France in the U.S. and will be greatly missed by his legions of fans and the NBC Sports family, which was honored to be part of Paul’s 40th Tour last July. Our thoughts are with Paul’s wife, Katherine, their children, and all of those in the cycling community who became Paul Sherwen fans over his many years calling the sport he loved.”

I went to bed in Africa with a heavy heart last night feeling sadness like never before. My team mate for 33 years was no longer with me. Your hundreds of messages showed how well @PaulSherwen was loved. Let's think of Katherine and his children with love just now.

I have scrolled through Tweets non-stop for 45mins and then went back to the top and found 600 new ones. @PaulSherwen would have been so proud to know how much you thought him. Thank you all. Riders, friends, fans, federation, media for your expressions of love

@PaulSherwen's family have now told me that the result of the post mortem was heart failure. Again, your tributes are very special, and thank you all. The outpouring of grief has simply never been so great for a cycling commentator. Love you all.